Pakistan, India to finalize agreement to reduce nuclear accidents
IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency
Islamabad, April 26, IRNA
Pakistan-India Nuclear Talks
Pakistan and India on Wednesday concluded two-day talks on Nuclear Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) in Islamabad with resolve to work towards finalization of the agreement to reduce the risk of nuclear accidents.
The two sides held detailed discussions on the draft text of an agreement, the objective of which is to reduce the risk from accidents relating to nuclear weapons, and agreed to work towards its finalization, said a joint statement issued at the conclusion of the talks at a press conference.
This was the fourth round of Pakistan-India Expert level Dialogue, which is part of the composite dialogue.
The two sides continued consultations on security concepts and nuclear doctrines to develop measures for confidence building, the joint statement said.
In the joint statement, they also reiterated their desire to keep working towards further elaboration and implementation of nuclear CBMs with a view to promoting a stable environment of peace and security between the two countries.
The Pakistan delegation at the two day talks was led by Additional Secretary Foreign Affairs Tariq Osman Hyder while Additional Secretary External Affairs Ministry of India K.C. Singh led his country's delegation.
Talking to the newsmen, the leaders of the two delegations acknowledged that there are some areas of differences on the draft agreement on nuclear risk reduction.
Osman Hyder said during the talks the two sides exchanged views on the proposals given by India.
Pakistan also made some proposals and now Indian side would respond to them.
He was confident that the two sides would be able to finalize the agreement during next round of expert level meeting on nuclear CBMs.
The two sides would report the progress made in the present round of the talks to the respective foreign secretaries who will decide on the date and venue of the next round of talks on the subject.
Foreign secretaries would meet in July in New Delhi.
Replying to a question the leader of the Indian delegation said the draft agreement is about minimizing risk from any radioactive leak due to accident on both sides.
He said this would be a step towards increasing stability in the region.
In response to a question about US-India agreement on nuclear technology, leader of the Pakistani delegation said this can affect the security situation in South Asia.
He, however, said Pakistan is quite confident of its deterrent capability.
He said the deterrence is a dynamic concept and if need be its level would be reviewed.
To another question he said Pakistan believes that the biggest confidence building measure would be resolution of the Kashmir dispute.
He said there should be progress on all issues and there should be movement on conflict resolution.
Osman Hyder said Pakistan and India already have a number of conventional CBMs.
He said in the context of its proposal about demilitarization in Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan would make proposals for further reduction of threat.
He said Pakistan wants result-oriented dialogue in the interest of people of both countries.
K.C. Singh parried a question about signing of no war pact saying India does not approach relations with Pakistan with negative parameters.
Asked about possibilities of arms race in South Asia after signing of US-India nuclear accord, Singh said his country does not believe in arms race.
He said that every country has a right to determine its security concerns.
He said India recognizes Pakistan's security concerns and likewise India too has its own security concerns.
He claimed that India was not Pakistan-centric.
Meanwhile, in the joint statement the two sides expressed their satisfaction on the signing of the agreement on pre-notification of flight testing of ballistic missiles and the operationalization of the hotline link between the two foreign secretaries.
These measures are intended to prevent misunderstanding and reduce risks relevant to nuclear issues.
They also discussed modalities for further securing the foreign secretaries' hotline.
The two sides would hold talks on conventional CBMs on Thursday in Islamabad.
2020/235/2322/1412
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